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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  3. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The King held a masked ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. prune — the fruit
  3. wax — for sculpting
  4. prune — to trim
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. cell — a phone
  7. squash — the sport
  8. ground — crushed
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. pop — to visit
  11. squash — to crush
  12. prune — to trim
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. ground — a position
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ball — a great time
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. pop — soda
  21. wax — to grow
  22. cell — in biology
  23. ball — a dance
  24. ball — a round shape

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com